Alk15: Brumal Quest is Kona's
best map so far. While it doesn't contain
many technical improvements - thing's aren't
any larger, more refined, or more detailed,
or more experimental - the short of it is
this is still an Alk map and thus follows
the formula - Brumal Quest improves in just
about every other area.
First, Brumal Quest has the best atmosphere
of any Quake map Kona has ever made. I can't
pick out every little thing that contributes
to this atmosphere, but it has a lot to
do with first, the theme, the subtly reskinned
monsters, and the skylight being cast by
the very appropriate dull winter sky. This
is a very atmospheric map. A few things
might have made it even more so, though
- since the map is supposed to be "built
into the mountains", a long series
of snowy canyons ascending, winding upwards
prior to the actual 'mountain village' would
really have increased the sense of altitude.
As well I did notice one texture that didn't
work very well, green grass with tiny bits
of snow on top, it was very out of place
both in terms of palette and pattern. But
enough of that, all in all this map has
lots of good atmosphere. Additionally the
map feels a lot less like a formulated level,
unlike, say The Looming Madness. This is
because of more distinct areas and less
emphasis on having everything look similar
to everything else, angled and interconnected.
Even in one of the best Alk maps, Alk07:
Egyptian Myth, it was difficult to find
one's way around because everything looked
quite similar, half indoors and half outdoors.
Well, in this map that is solved by having
several main outdoor "hubs" and
small indoor and outdoor passages which
generally lead to them from one way or another.
Additionally, indoor rooms obviously have
no snow in them, where outdoor areas are
fairly covered with the stuff.
I should not forget to make some comments
about gameplay. This is basically your non-stop
Alk gameplay, where despite the interconnective
layout things are very linear with monsters
teleporting in or coming out of secret closets.
This type of play is starting to seem rather
restrictive - no pausing, looking for things
or figuring out what to do next. However
by no means does this mean that this map
is not fun, and depending on how you play
you can end up with some interesting situations
- at one point I was basically being hunted
by a horde of high-level enemies while I
tried to find some nails! Also, you can
make good use of infights. As well, the
end map has some excellent combat, watch
out for those firepods. Overall Kona manages
to get away with his semi-usual gameplay
again, only this time it's a lot more enjoyable
in this different and atmospheric setting.
This is the best Alk map as of yet. |